A network node as referred to herein may be implemented in various types of network environments such as in company networks, office networks, residential networks, etc., for providing access to external networks, such as, the Internet or other interconnecting networks. However, the functionality of the network node may most fittingly be described in reference to a residential gateway implemented in a residential network.
A residential gateway is a kind of network equipment found in most homes today. The residential gateway, also referred to as home gateway, is a hardware device connecting a home network to external networks, for example, a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet.
A residential gateway may combine the functions of an IP router, multi-port Ethernet switch and WiFi access point. It may also provide port translation functionality (NAT), support for localized Quality of Service (QoS) enforcement and also serves as a dynamic DNS client, etc. The residential gateway may be arranged between a modem and the residential network, or an xDSL or cable modem may be integrated into the residential gateway. Thus, the residential gateway has a connection, such as, an Ethernet connection or xDSL connection, which it may use to connect to the external networks, WANs or the Internet.
Physically, a residential gateway is usually provided with a few simple lights, for example, LEDs, in order to indicate the status of the gateway to a user of a network terminal in the residential network. These may indicate, for example, if the gateway is turned on/off, whether a DSL link has been established or not, or whether the IP address configuration to an external network has succeeded or not. In this way, the residential gateway may automatically only convey a restricted amount of information using very limited means.
Furthermore, a residential gateway typically provides an interface to its configuration, settings and other status information. This may be performed by running a local web server. The local web server provides a web page comprising said gateway information. A skilled user may access the web page by typing in the numerical IP address of the residential gateway in an address field of a web browser. However, this requires knowledge about the numerical IP address of the residential gateway; sometimes also a user name and a password. It also requires that the network terminal has established correct IP configurations and/or has been configured with a domain name server (DNS). These procedures are often considered complex and sometimes overwhelmingly difficult for an unskilled user.